The STARGIRL Magazine: Issue 01

THE STARGiRL WORLD

06_Editor’s Note

08_She’s a Digital Girl, in a Critical World

An article to explore the relationship between Gen Zs and social media, as well as the representation of girlhood on the same topic

10_Girls on the Internet

Similar to She’s a Digital Girl, in a Critical World, Girls on the Internet is a fashion lookbook exploring the relationship between two friends and the internet world, especially when posting online on Instagram and Tiktok

18_Fashion Girlfriend, Rockstar Boyfriend

A compilation of songs to get ready to

20_The Sisterhood Diaries: We Share Clothes and Dreams

A photo diary of two sisters (Read: twins) on pursuing their dreams in fashion

28_A Girl and Her Handbag

An article about a girl’s obsession with handbags, Carrie Bradshaw style

30_Girl Dinner

A photo diary to explore a girl’s relationship with materialistic items, inspired by the infamous quote by Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City: “When I first moved to New York and I was completely broke, sometimes I would buy Vogue instead of dinner. I felt it fed me more.”

Hi, I am Adinda and I am the girl behind The STARGIRL Magazine. In early 2023, I moved to Plymouth, United Kingdom for an exchange program. Something that was meant to last for only one semester ended up being somewhat permanent. I have always wanted to experience life on this side of the world, but I have never heard of this city until I came here. But I am glad I chose to stay because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be writing this Editor’s Note right now.

STARGIRL was a clothing brand project created during my exchange semester. I have designed the whole branding around it, such as the logo, clothing tag, packaging design and even the clothes themselves. I told myself I would turn it into my final major project, but quickly realised I don’t actually have a background in fashion design. But I do have a background in graphic design and I read a lot of fashion magazines.

In this first issue called Accessories of the Past, I will be redefining girlhood through 2000s accessories and sustainable fashion. These accessories that you will see all throughout the magazine are from my childhood collection, from when I was as little as five years old. When I found these accessories in my childhood bedroom, I knew I had to include this on one of my graphic design projects. I am really happy that the project is this magazine.

As for sustainable fashion, all of the clothing pieces that you see here are either thrifted, gifted by friends and family, or from local businesses all throughout Plymouth. To me, contributing in sustainable fashion does not only mean supporting the environment, but it’s also to shop locally.

Although designing a magazine is A LOT of work (especially since it’s my first time), I am having a lot of fun and am actually sad that this marks my last time being a student ever. I have met a lot of amazing people, especially my schoolmates Daria, Eve and Poppy who contributed in this magazine. It’s crazy to think that I am constantly surrounded by creative, talented people who’re always down to collaborate.

Everyone just wants the best for everyone here. I hope you enjoy reading this magazine as much as I enjoy making it.

Love, Adinda

SHE’SADiGiTALGIRL

BY ADINDA NARESWARI

An article to explore the relationship between Gen Zs and social media, as well as the representation of girlhood on the same topic...

...but it’s basically a yap session about my experience getting cyberbullied for being chronically online

INA CRiTiCAL WORLD

I am a 2000s baby. I grew up with the internet. My first exposure to the digital world was when my older cousins showed me a site called Friendster. I don’t know how to describe it besides looking at it as a “cool kid” version of Facebook.

What I know for sure is I spent hours on this site and I was still not even ten years old. I remember role playing as Ashley Tisdale because I was obsessed with her character Sharpay Evans from High School Musical I would design my profile to be as Sharpay as possible, with pinks, glitters and all things Sharpay. Friendster was my first obsession with the internet. Now that I look back, it was the first virtual space where I showcased my creativity but also the first space where I received hate from strangers (Read: cyberbullying).

Maybe because I was still too young at the time, I did not bother the hate comments I received because the fun I had on this platform overshadowed the hate... OR maybe because English was not my first language, therefore I had to look up words on Google Translate everytime there are new words that I don’t understand. I remember one time a stranger wrote on my profile that I stole their edits by saying “A THIEF DOESN’T HAVE EYES !!!1!!!@!!!#*”. That was my first encounter with the word “thief”. Even after finding out what it means, my only reaction was “WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DON’T HAVE EYES ???2???@???”. OR maybe I just don’t care. I might or might not have stolen their edits, but I was not even ten years old.

As soon as I turned ten, Facebook gained popularity. I would honestly still prefer Friendster because Facebook is designed for your parents to see what you are up to, while Friendster reminds me of a computer class where students learn how to draw on Microsoft Paint. It’s! Just! So! Much! Fun! I was only on Facebook for a game called Pet Society, where everyone literally role played as a pet.

I much prefer Blogspot or Tumblr. Blogspot was where I created my own fashion blog, while Tumblr was where I found inspirations online.

I was (and am) so proud of my fashion blog. I remember working on my first ever brand collaboration, where I was paid with money and a cute laptop case.

But I was also bullied by people who thought what I did was cringe, embarrassing and any other negative adjectives you could ever think of. I remember a friend from my English class told me it was very narcissistic of me to take selfies in my outfits. It was not a selfie, it was a self portrait

At one point, the bullying got out of control because someone from school hacked my Blogspot account one day before my final exam.

If you type in “ADINDA NARESWARI” on Google, you might still find my old fashion blog and all the photos I’ve uploaded on the platform. I know this because when I was in high school, an old friend of mine typed in my name on Google, found my blog and shared it to everyone on Snapchat. I didn’t know about it until I went to school the following day and someone was laughing to me about it.

Cyberbullying, or bullying in general is challenging. But what’s more challenging is realising that I was mentally bullied. It took me nearly a decade to realise that it was not normal.

However, I am where I am today because of these experiences. Bullying, growing out of friendships and being stuck inside during the pandemic made me realise that my true calling has always been wearing cute clothes and being in front of the camera. When I dyed my hair for the first time during the pandemic, it instantly gave me a confidence boost because I got to play around with my style. From that moment onwards, I started posting online again.

I guess when you do something for fun and with zero expectations, that’s when you truly enjoy what you do and attract the right people. I have more online friends who have the same interests as me, I have my real life friends asking me to make a Youtube channel and even one time, during London Fashion Week, an old man walked up to me only to compliment on my outfits with a *chef’s kiss*.

iNTERNET GiRLS

THE

SHOT BY EVE MCCARTNEY

ON

INTERNET GIRLS’ GUIDE ON HOW TO TAKE (PROPER) INSTAGRAM PICS

01_Put on a cute outfit so your DM will always be flooded with “Where is your outfit from?!”

02_Train everyone in your life to be your Instagram boyfriend/girlfriend. They are your photographer! Pro tip: Lens should be on your eye level to get the BEST angle

03_Colour grading is key! Posting on Instagram means business. Treat your profile like your portfolio

DARIA IS WEARING

TOP PLANET RIU

JEANS URBAN REVIVO

SHOES DARIA’S

ADINDA IS WEARING

TOP UNIQLO SKIRT THRIFTED BOOTS THRIFTED NECKLACE THRIFTED GLOVES WONKY BONK

ACCESSORIES DARIA’S

PRESS ON NAILS DARIA’S

INTERNET GIRLS’ GUIDE ON HOW TO TAKE (PROPER) INSTAGRAM PICS

04_Take photos of everything. Turn them into a photo dump!

05 Be creative with your photo dump: turn them into a scrapbook by putting texts and doodles all over them or go extra and turn them into an editorial spread!

06_Don’t forget to curate your feed! Remember, posting on Instagram means business. Treat your profile like a portfolio.

DARIA IS WEARING

TOP THE FASHION PULPIT SKIRT YARD SALE PLYMOUTH BOOTS THRIFTED ACCESSORIES DARIA’S PRESS ON NAILS DARIA’S

ADINDA IS WEARING

TOP HEAVEN BY MARC JACOBS SKIRT THRIFTED NECKLACE THRIFTED BRACELETS HANDMADE EARRINGS GIFTED

INTERNET GIRLS’ GUIDE ON HOW TO TAKE (PROPER) INSTAGRAM PICS

07_Last but not least, don’t forget to touch up before taking any Instagram photos! If you are not into makeup, a lip combo is more than enough. A lip liner, lip balm and lip gloss are your best friends for any photos :-*

DARIA IS WEARING

TOP UNIQLO SKIRT THRIFTED BOOTS THRIFTED TIE IDENTITY FASHION ACCESSORIES DARIA’S

ADINDA IS WEARING

DRESS THE FASHION PULPIT SOCKS UNIQLO LOAFERS THRIFTED BRACELETS HANDMADE EARRINGS GIFTED

DIRECTED BY ADINDA NARESWARI

STYLED BY

MODELLED BY ADINDA NARESWARI

DARIA EFTIMIE

SHOT BY

EVE MCCARTNEY

ADINDA NARESWARI DARIA EFTIMIE

THE SiSTERHOOD DiaRiES

WE SHARE CLOTHES AND DREAMS

INTERVIEWED BY ADINDA NARESWARI

As someone who doesn’t have a sister, the closest thing I’ve experienced to sisterhood was with my Mother. My Mom and I share each other’s clothes because we are pretty much the same size. She borrows some of my “unconventional” clothing items for her to dance every Saturday with her friends. I borrow some of her “formal” clothing items to go to the Church.

I’ve always wanted a biological sister. A younger one, because I want to make sure I experience life first before she does, hence she doesn’t have to go through all the hardships in life. But since I don’t have one, maybe one day I’ll give birth to daughters. I also don’t mind twins.

I recently met Anya and Dulcie, a pair of twin sisters currently enrolled as costume design students at my university. If there’s one thing I have in common with them, it is that we are passionate about clothes. Anya and Dulcie are passionate about designing costumes for theatre, while I am passionate about secondhand clothes. In this interview called “The Sisterhood Diaries: We Share Clothes and Dreams”, we talked about what it’s like to be sisters (especially twins), what they like to borrow (or steal) from each other’s closet and what makes them want to pursue a career in costume design together as twins.

What do you like to steal from each other’s closet?

Anya: I always go for Dulcie’s dark-coloured clothes because she has more than me and Dulcie goes for my shoes because I have more variety of shoes compared to her. We actually don’t take each other’s clothes as much as we do with makeup products and perfumes. When it comes to makeup, we like to learn different makeup looks with each other. It’s usually Dulcie who teaches me different makeup tips and tricks.

Out of all the courses offered at the university, why did you choose to take costume design?

Dulcie: We chose costume design because we have always been interested in theatre, especially the behind the scenes such as the set and wardrobe design. We have also previously done textile and sewn for years, therefore we thought costume design would be a great way for us to get into the arts.

Since you guys are twins doing the same course, have you guys ever thought about building a business together?

Dulcie: Definitely. When we were still in secondary school, we thought about creating a clothing brand together. We can obviously still do it, but after we graduate from university, we can also try to do our own thing first and then come back to build our own business together. I guess being twins in business is the unique selling point.

Any big sister advice to any sisters, or twins, who want to pursue an education or career in fashion together?

Anya and Dulcie: As twins, we grew up with people asking us “Why do you guys have to do everything together?”. Even if you are not twins, our only advice is to not listen to what other people have to say.

Although we like to do things together, we also have our own personal interests. But we embrace the things we both like together, simply because we don’t need a reason to separate ourselves from each other. Like we said before, the best thing about being each other’s sister, or twin, is being each other’s best friend. There are a lot of best friends out there sharing mutual interests, doing the same thing and even taking the same major like we do.

A GiRL &

HeR HaNDBaG

BY ADINDA NARESWARI An article about a girl’s obsession with handbags, Carrie Bradshaw style.

“What fashion item do I remind you of?”

“A handbag, you always have one for every occasion.”

When I asked my friend Sophie about which fashion item reminds her of me, I was surprised to hear that it was a handbag. She told me I have one for every occasion, but from what I know, I only have less than ten handbags and frequently wear three of them. I also never worked my outfit around a handbag, it is always the other way around.

To me, being remembered for a certain fashion item is like a “first impression”, hence I decided to study my own closet. I’ve always thought people will remember me for my top collection: I have a lot of colourful ones, heavy on the 2000s culture. Or my mini skirts, because I wear them a lot with my knee high boots. The classic mini skirt and knee high boots combo, that’s what I’m known for. Oh, and my leather jacket collection. I have a lot because wearing a leather jacket makes me feel a lot cooler.

But maybe Sophie was right. Maybe, the reason why she thinks I have a handbag for every occasion is because my whole life is inside these handbags. My go-to handbag is a silver beaded bag that I got for free from volunteering at a yard sale. It fits my laptop, iPad, novel, sketchbook, pencil case, makeup pouch, card holder, student ID and even an umbrella. I use it for school, for going out and even for travelling.

Maybe, the reason why handbags remind her of me is because it’s not just an accessory, it’s MY accessory. I always make sure whatever I wear compliments each other. It is important for me to wear a statement piece that people will notice when they see me. I just thought it would be something else.

It might seem frivolous to some people, but I think about clothes all the time. After all, Carrie Bradshaw writes about sex and men all the time because that’s her main topic. Sometimes she writes about a pair of $400 shoes. Clothes, on the other hand, are my main topic. When I was younger, I used to collect Barbie dolls, along with their clothes and accessories. From what I remember, I have a ton of clothes for these dolls. But when I went back to my childhood home last summer, I only found a few Barbie clothes, but a ton of accessories. Most of these accessories are handbags.

Maybe, I’ve actually been obsessed with handbags since I was a child. The obsession is unknowingly still here with me as an adult when I decided to have my silver beaded handbag as my go-to bag rather than choosing normal ones like normal people. It’s like, who the hell choose a disco ball-inspired handbag as their go-to handbag?

I think it’s only fashion maniacs like me.